You can kiss the bride!
by LilyBartAndTheOthers
Summary: A wedding can change a lot of things. This is a Will, Karen, Grace and Jack fic.
1. Life is unexpected

The room was plunged into the dark, the pale moonlight passing through the windows and spreading its shade over the furniture like the figure of a ghost taking possession of a soul. Some voices could be heard in the background but a peaceful silence was obviously reigning out there, the soft prelude to a storm perhaps.

A travel bag was hanging loosely to the back of a chair while a shirt had been thrown on the bed and a pair of sneakers was resting on the floor. The door opened suddenly and she stumbled backwards under the weight of his body. The noises coming from the party downstairs filled the room for a couple of seconds as her unsteady steps led them inside, their shadows reflected into the light of the hallway that had made its way through the Eastern carpet where she gave up her shoes and let her sigh get lost in his mouth. They leaned against the door as he closed it back before heading towards the bed; the sound of their hungry kiss and the rustle of their clothes troubling slowly the silence of the night.

They never broke apart, just fell on the mattress and let their hands and legs brush each other's ones as if a strength was controlling their minds, pushing them farer into the boldness of their gestures; unless they had waited for so long that their bodies were shouting out loud for their release and they couldn't help doing it.

She went on top of him as his hands travelled along her back, passing underneath her shirt and caressing the skin all along the spine. Breathless she left his lips reluctantly and plunged her eyes in his, looking for an answer to what was happening. For a couple of seconds a veil of confusion passed through their gazes but the desires boiling into their veins put an end to the odd reality of their acts and as she was loosening his tie, they both knew they wouldn't go backwards; unaware of the fact that Grace was witnessing the scene, astonished, in the dark.

She made a step forward but froze and went outside silently while Will was taking off Karen's bra.

_Two days earlier._

She could have ignored the invitation or pretended she had never got it. She firstly thought she should tear the envelop and throw it straight in the fireplace then get drunk and try to forget about it but Will had caught it up before and she had had to face the harsh reality: Danny was getting married.

She had drawn a line under him for a very long while but the past still belonged to her life and she couldn't help feeling the weight of jealousy over her heart. She had no boy friend and was living with a gay guy. She had made a face then smiled, resigned and happy somehow when her friends had accepted to come along with her and help her to overcome the nightmarish situation that would take place in Vermont; for Valentine's Day besides. She had just rolled her eyes but wouldn't have said no to the vodka that Karen was sipping quietly in the backseat of the car.

The snow considerably slowed down their journey but they finally arrived until what looked like a very hype wooden cabin surrounded by white mountains and trees. She sighed and pouted thoughtfully; she may not be the bride this time but at least she would be able to enjoy the spa. She turned and smiled at Will as his hands got to rest on her shoulders.

"Don't be worried, Grace. Everything will be alright."

"Oh please! Get a room and avoid the headlines. This isn't your wedding, Wilma!"

They both looked at Karen's disgusted expression as the millionaire made her way inside, holding Jack's hand and ending the bottle of vodka. Will followed them, shaking his resigned head.

"Yeah… Perfectly alright."

_Room 24._

She stretched her arms and sighed loudly as the water fell down on her face, running on her skin. She felt dizzy but fine and incredibly happy. It was the first time she left New York since Stanley had been arrested and obviously taking some distance with her personal worries sounded perfect and relaxing. The stream of the shower invaded her lungs and rocked her peacefully for another fifteen minutes before she decided to step out, putting on her bathrobe. She opened the door and went straight to her bed where she had left the dress that she would wear the exact evening; a satin deep red ankle-length one that would match with her new pair of Manolo Blahnick.

She began to unloose her bathrobe but the sound of his voice made her jump, her hand over her heart.

"Go on, Karen, it's okay with me."

She turned and faced him, breathing loud under the unexpected visit.

"Bloody hell, Will, you scared me! What are you doing here?"

He was sat on one of the old leather armchairs that faced the French window, overlooking the mountains. He bent down and grabbed some papers, pointing them at her. Karen made a face as she understood his gesture and sighed, sitting down next to him.

"Can't we just forget the bastard for a couple of hours, Will? I don't feel like dealing with Stanley's case right now."

She started massaging her temples as a headache was invading her brain. The pain had become a very unpleasant friend lately that she tried to drawn under a big amount of pills.

"Scotch?"

She shook her head and winced, then looked at Will.

"Aspirin."

Will stood up and went to the bathroom as Karen settled further into the armchair, leaning her head backwards. He came back and gave her two pills that she gulped down immediately.

"Thank you, Will."

She closed her eyes and smiled as he grabbed her waist and kissed her cheek. She kind of liked when they weren't arguing.

"Okay so let's get over it so that we both enjoy the rest of the weekend."

"Yep."

Karen let Will explain the clauses of the contract they were both studying as the afternoon went on smoothly.


	2. My loneliness, my Valentine

"Oh god…" 

She sighed loudly as his kisses made their way on her skin, the contact of his lips and the heat of his breath were driving her crazy. She knew that Will was too drunk to even realize what he was doing but as soon as he had let his hands travel along her hips, her logic had run away substituted by the quick pace of her heartbeats.

Karen gasped when her friend's boldness reached her inner thighs but something hit her mind and, breathless, she grabbed his neck and faced him.

"Will… You won't regret, will you?" She shook her head and laughed bitterly. "You don't even know what you're doing."

She stayed still when his finger came to rest on her lips in order she stopped talking. He looked at her and brushed his mouth against hers, a veil of seriousness lighting up his gaze.

"I want you, Karen. I always wanted you."

She couldn't help shivering under the excitement of such a confession and as Will leaned over to kiss her hungrily, she tried to ignore the red on her cheeks and the fine coldness that had invaded her veins for a couple of seconds, the meanings of his words weighing suddenly a lot over their friendship.

_Two days earlier, solarium. _

She yawned and entered the room shyly until a well-known face caught up her attention. She smiled and sat down quietly, contemplating the mountains and the blue sky of Vermont on a sunny afternoon of February, the French windows offering a unique panorama of the area.

"I thought you would be at the bar."

Karen sighed, sipping a martini. She was laid down on a deckchair, looking absent-mindedly in front of her.

"Hum… This place is quieter and I'm tired. I need to rest, honey."

Grace ordered a drink. After a few minutes of indecision, she put an end to the battle of her thoughts and took a deep breath.

"Thank you for being here. It's not…"

Against all her expectations, Karen grabbed her hand and held it tightly, a bright smile lighting up her face.

"I know, Gracie. I know it's not easy."

She had known Karen for a few years now but she was still surprised by her friend's reactions; she could make fun of you and a second later hold you tight without saying a word. The only conclusion she had managed to come to through the experiences and time was that Karen could be sweet and trusted when you let her be the way she had decided to be; she wouldn't miss those important moments when seriousness was required. Grace could rely on her and was glad of it.

For once it's Grace who put an end to the unexpected sweetness of the moment and raised her eyebrows.

"So where have you been? Jack looked for you until he met some gorgeous waiter and planned his own wedding for tonight."

Karen smiled and rolled her eyes. She loved a lot Jack and his permanent flings. This guy was a dizzy whirl for everyone; and the sunshine of her life.

"I was in my bedroom with Wilma. We had to work on some papers for Stan but we put it on stand by. I have a big headache."

She winced and settled further on the deckchair. For a couple of seconds she looked so small, so tiny; almost lost in this room. Grace shivered while observing her friend silently: Karen reached her strength in her vulnerability.

"Are you mad at him?"

Karen turned and stared at Grace, surprised by her question. Nobody until now had dared to ask her anything about her husband's situation or what kind of feelings it had stirred up in her body. She frowned and pouted.

"Not really… I'm just… I guess I'm bitter and a bit lonely."

Grace was about to reply but Karen went on so she let her speak. Obviously the dark-haired woman needed to confess her intimate thoughts in order to feel relieved.

"It's not the fact that he's not here, next to me. After all he was off before; all those business trips and meetings out of town… Something got broken; something I can't name or reach. It's frustrating. And I just know it makes me feel lonely."

A laugh burst out in the background, giving an odd shade to the sad seriousness of the situation, as if life went on, no mattered some people could be suffering and feeling lonely. Grace bit her lower lip as she realized how this world could be selfish.

"Don't be worried, I will survive. Stanley didn't cheat on me. He never tried to hurt me or anything." Karen rolled her eyes. "He's just been incredibly stupid."

Her wedding ring caught up the light of the sun ironically as she sighed loudly. An uncomfortable silence wrapped them all of a sudden. Grace looked down, confused. She didn't know what to say. One more time Karen got faster, surprising Grace by her statement.

"Did you know Stan and I got married on Valentine's Day?" She laughed and made a face then raised her glass to bring a bitter toast with the French window in front of her. "Happy wedding anniversary, Mrs Walker."

Grace's jaw dropped wide opened but before she had enough time to reply, Danny was standing in front of her, holding some blonde girl by the waist.

"Hi Grace!"

_Room 26._

Work, work, work, work, work. Will sighed and passed a hand on his forehead as he observed silently, a vague disgust on his face, the pile of papers resting on the coffee table of his bedroom. He had never thought that, while becoming Stanley's lawyer, he would have such a big amount of work to do but the late events had proved him how wrong he could have been about it. He stood up and went to lean on the wall near the window. The sun was still shining high in the sky, giving a particular purity to the snow on the trees and the mountains. To be completely honest, he would have preferred to stay in New York that weekend. Vermont was a gorgeous place, extremely romantic and so perfect for a wedding on Valentine's day.

But Will was single and had nobody in mind. He winced and made a face; perhaps he should try to change his playground.

He shook his head vigorously, trying to put aside his wonderings, and went back to work on Karen and Stanley's case. His personal life may have been a disaster but at least his work kept him away from too much frustration.


	3. Juke box, feelings and money

Her hands slid along his spine and she took off his shirt, feeling the heat of his body under her palms. She had never cheated on Stanley or on any man she had dated. As much as her behaviour could be provocative, Karen still had some principles, especially about marriage and fidelity. Though while she was making her way on Will's body through soft kisses, she realized that that night her perspectives had changed and it was exciting. 

Her fingertips brushed his inner thighs as her lips were playing with his bare stomach. She couldn't help but smile when Will gasped under her mischievous touches before she unzipped his pants and got rid of them slowly. The way his hand was massaging her head was extremely sweet but terribly exciting at the same time and as she passed a hand underneath his boxers she surprised herself for having absolutely no inhibition. After all it was their first time; how could they have such boldness now?

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his whole skin against hers as she slid along him and came back to his lips. Her tongue caressed his mouth before deepening the kiss and as they rolled on a side and Will headed back to her inner thighs, the brief image of a white dress in front of the altar hit her mind; Danny's smile while looking at the blond woman standing next to him and the bitterness she had felt by then at the end of the ceremony.

She and Stanley had lost something, the bright magic of happy marriages.

Will took off her thong; she bit her lower lip.

_Two days ago, room 25._

Her name was Mindy. She was tall, blond, sweet and extremely nice. Of course Grace hated her right away, feeling ashamed and guilty. She grabbed a dress and went to the bathroom to get ready for the dinner. After several minutes she looked at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. The weekend would be long and painful though she wasn't sure that she was the one who was suffering the most right now. Karen's confession about her own wedding sounded sadly ironical and it was probably a torture for her to be here and pretend she was happy while the last events tended to prove the exact opposite.

Grace would have loved to say something to Karen, to let her know that she wasn't alone and could rely on her but they both had been caught up by Danny's arrival, sweeping away immediately the mere tentative of support that her friend needed. And somehow she had felt relieved; she wasn't good at dealing with advices and people's worries.

She turned as someone knocked on the door, her face lighting up when Will came in. He was wearing an Armani suit. She smirked.

"Hi you, sexy thing!" She couldn't help thinking that he was extremely attractive in this outfit.

"Are you ready? Karen and Jack are already downstairs, checking respectively the amount of alcohol and gay guys present at this wedding."

She smiled and shook her head, amused by the situation, then took a deep breath and joined Will.

"Yes. Let's go, Will."

_Room 24, 1am._

She growled and turned on a side for the thousandth time within a minute. Her hazel eyes caught up the moonlight passing through the window. For a couple of seconds Karen stayed still, observing from her bed, her head on the pillow, how the wind was blowing outside as the snow was falling softly in the darkness of the night.

Her patience came to an end and she finally got up, putting on her woollen shawl. She grabbed a bottle of vodka and left her bedroom. She crossed the hallway and took the stairs down. It looked like the whole cabin was resting peacefully and she was just a ghost wandering through the corridors of her life; half-way between her past and the solution that would relieve her soul.

Karen sipped her Absolute and smiled when the vodka warmed up her heart. She was still alive.

_The lounge._

The chapel had resulted extremely boring, though reading The Holly Bible could have put an end to her sleepless night within a couple of minutes. For a moment Karen had even come to think that praying an Ave Maria for getting another bottle of vodka could have filled her time but the soft shade of some old lamps had caught up her attention and she had headed straight towards the lounge and its deliciously comfortable armchairs.

Besides she wasn't sure that smoking was allowed while facing a statue of the Christ.

Karen leaned her head backwards and closed her eyes, the smell of her cigarette invading her blurry soul.

"I knew you had a thing for alcohol but I'd have never thought that you could only get sleep next to the bar."

She smiled but kept her eyes closed. "Shut up, Wilma." Karen patted the seat next to her and, still lost in her dizzy midnight thoughts, she sighed. "Sleepless night?"

Will sat down and nodded. "Yes. Too much work kills the whole fun of Vermont."

She turned her head and finally faced him, they were mere inches apart. None of them said a word but Will moved the first. He stood up and went until the juke box, put a coin in the machine and smiled at Karen as Tom Jones' voice filled the empty lounge of his It's not Unusual rhythm. She laughed and shook her head.

"You're such a fairy, Will."

He came to stand in front of her and throw her a coin. "A penny for your thoughts."

Karen grabbed it and her eyes furrowed while looking at the dollar drawing. She cleared her voice and threw the coin back to Will. "Honey you won't get anything from me for a penny. Get out the bills immediately!"

Will shook his head, laughing. "I guess my bed's waiting for me. You stay here?" Karen nodded. He went to the juke box and put the coin in it, then waved her good night and left the lounge silently as the first notes of Peggy Lee's song sounding loud around her. She huddled up against herself and made a face while listening to the singer's despair.

_You got plenty of money 1922_

_You let other women make a fool of you_

_Why don't you do it right?_

_Like some other men do..._

Karen hummed along with the jazz song then sighed and whispered to herself. "Why don't you do it right?" She stood up and headed back to her bedroom.

"Why don't you do it right, Stan?"


	4. Danny vs Danny

Her tongue tasted of champagne. Her whole body was soft under his hands and her feminine curves seemed to have blinded his mind. Karen wasn't like the others, there was something in her behaviour, the way she looked at you and smiled, that used to stir up the most unexpected sensations from your soul. As his lips were kissing her ankle softly, Will got to focalize on her other leg before making his way up, little by little. He loved how she arched her back when he came to touch some sensitive spot on her skin; how her breath was getting louder while the minutes were passing by. She was divine when she let fall down her mask.

For a brief moment Karen opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, trying to control her heartbeats and the feelings that Will was bringing to her body. She swallowed hard and leaned her knee against his head as his lips were coming up slowly through her skin. She would have loved to say that it was all because of the situation; how they shouldn't have been doing it, breaking down the implicit rules of their friendship, of her marriage. She cared about Will as she did for any relative. It was purely a one-night stand but still, he was driving her crazy and she smiled in the darkness of the room as realizing how lucky she could be.

Will finally reached her lips and she squeezed his waist tightly as she kissed him hungrily. She needed his presence, his heat. The loneliness Karen had been feeling all along the weekend was weighing a lot and the intimacy both of them were now sharing was the perfect solution to put aside all her worries. She passed a hand along his spine and came to rest on his lower back, pushing Will closer to her own body. The gesture was clear, as much as her wishes.

They broke apart and looked at each other, unable to scan their respective minds. They were just about to change the way of their whole life.

_One day earlier, greenhouse._

The pale light of the morning sun was already warming his back. Jack stirred and looked dreamingly at the mountains opposite the cabin. The day before was far, as much as his wedding plans with Paul the cute waiter who had turned to be a woman actually called Paula. This little gender mistake had certainly not slowed down his ambitions and a whole night of sleep had set off the machine again: Jack McFarland was ready to keep on flirting.

Very soon the impossible Trumans, husband and wife, arrived. Grace's mind got hypnotized by the muffins and pancakes, vaguely waving to Jack before heading to the breakfast pastries as Will sat down quietly, New York Times in hand. Jack nodded appreciatively when he saw that his friend would only take coffee. At last Will had got that he was fat! After a couple of endless minutes, Jack pouted and cleared his voice.

"Where's Kare?"

Will kept concentrated on his morning reading, shuddered and replied teasingly. "Check the wine cellar or the lounge. Unless she had finally made her way until her bedroom and tries now to get over her sleepless night."

Feeling two pairs of confused eyes on his own face, Will looked up and added. "I happened to meet her last night. She couldn't get to sleep, neither did I." Seeing that his friends were still a bit surprised he sighed. "What?"

_Room 24._

"I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to!"

Will covered his ears in an attempt to escape from Karen's shrieks but her high-pitched voice was particularly high that morning. Taking a deep breath, he opened the French window of his friend's bedroom and put a shouting Karen out on the balcony. The sudden coldness of the temperature over her body stopped her immediately and, as she was clearly shivering in her lacy nightgown, she made a face at Will; then smiled.

"Okay honey… Let's go back and work on this paper thing." She rolled her eyes and sat down loudly on the first armchair she reached, pouting like a little girl, her arms crossed on her chest. Will took the seat in front of her and caught up her gaze.

"I know it's not easy for you, Karen. And I'm sorry it's happening to you… But your husband being in jail, you have to be in charge of his fortune…"

Karen leaned over, suddenly interested. "Is it about money, Wilma?"

Will nodded. Karen's face lit up and the millionaire grabbed her glasses, opting for a disconcerting seriousness that Will had never seen before. "I'm all yours, Will. I have all my time. Come on, tell me about the bills. How much?"

_Billiard room._

"Would you mind to keep my balls?"

Grace jumped and came back to reality, putting her thoughts aside. The unexpected statement made her scoff but as she turned to reply harshly to this particularly inappropriate question, she found herself in front of George Clooney; or his twin; okay… Relative. Alright, alright, kind-of-lookalike-who-is-also-sexy.

All of a sudden she forgot about his mischievous remark and smiled back at him.

"Sure! I would like a lot… To keep your balls. I'm Grace."

"Danny."

Ouch! Meeting a future Danny boy friend to the wedding of an ex boy friend Danny seemed a bit confusing and awkward but as Mindy passed in the background the Adler jealousy came back right away and so she plunged her eyes in Danny's ones, leaning on the billiard.

"So who invited you, Danny?"

"Mindy. I'm her brother-in-law."

It's when Grace's smile got frozen and her nails began to dig angry drawings on the green billiard. For a moment she almost felt like kneeling down and looking up, imploring God to stop the curse she was suffering from but the clock stuck twelve. The ceremony would take place within two hours. She had to get dressed. In a last tentative of politeness she excused herself and came back to her bedroom.

She was having withdrawal relationship symptoms: she needed chocolate.


	5. We're all drunk, aren't we?

Will leaned over and captured Karen's lips as their bodies became one. A spasm ran through her whole body and she sighed in her friend's mouth, then wrapped her legs around his waist. She couldn't believe they were doing it. It sounded so surreal, extremely exciting, highly dangerous and amazingly logical. She began to kiss his ear as his thrusts accompanied their breaths. Their weird intimacy was lit up by the moonlight passing through the windows and the shadows of the trees reflected on the walls.

They rolled on a side and she went on top of him, deepening their thrusts as her blood was boiling into her veins. She leaned her head backwards and closed her eyes, smiling when Will's hand came to rest on her nape and he started caressing her hair, going down until her hips. Her lips were moist against his skin; the heat of her breath was sensual and made his body shiver as soon as an invisible contact joined them silently. Karen swallowed hard and bit her lower lip, trying to stifle a moan and the sweet temptation to tell his name through a sigh of pleasure that would break the magic and make her realize a bit too quickly that she was still married.

She came back to his mouth and kissed him hungrily. A hand on his nape she led him on a side as he speeded up the pace of his hips and all of a sudden Karen felt like time had been suspended; a wave of warmness making her whole body shiver before she succumbed to Will in the paroxysm of her feelings.

It wasn't long before her friend joined her and rested, breathless, against her chest; his mouth on her neck.

_The day before__, chapel._

A furtive pad on her shoulder from Will and Karen stopped disco dancing. She looked all around her at the guests and the lovey-dovey way the chapel had been decorated for the special occasion. All those roses made her feel sick. She sighed heavily and took off her flask from her low-cut. Feigning she hadn't seen Will's angry gaze, she closed her eyes and smiled as the alcohol burned her throat and warmed up her body. The ceremony was way too long and nothing funny had happened until now. The bride was there and seemed to be ready to say yes to Grace's ex boy friend.

As Karen was about to take another sip of her vodka, a hand grabbed her flask, stopping her right away. She frowned and looked at Grace incredulously as her friend made a desperate face and took a sip. Karen winced and leaned over, whispering to her friend.

"I'm so proud of you little Gracie."

Even before the end of the ceremony Grace was already highly drunk but nobody dared to come up with any kind of statement. At least not out loud. As Karen was stepping out the toilets, Will stopped her.

"Where's Grace?"

Karen shuddered. "What I know, Wilma? Just for your information, I usually go alone to the toilets. Besides the Red stole my flask. That's extremely low." Karen began to pout but her face lit up when Jack offered her a glass of Champagne. She kissed his cheek thankfully and headed towards the lounge. "Come on, fairies! The party's waiting for us!" Karen shivered uncontrollably. God this weekend was a nightmare.

_The lounge._

"Danny and Mindy wish you a happy Valentine's day."

Grace looked at the small red card and tore it with anger as she leaned on her elbow on the table, growling like the bears and gulping down the mountain of food that she had previously put in her plate. She narrowed her eyes and stared at Karen; her friend felt the weight of Grace's gaze on her and made a face.

"What? Is my glass empty?"

Grace sighed loudly and frowned. "How can you bear that?"

Karen froze all of a sudden and looked at Jack and Will a bit panicked. The situation was getting a turn that she wasn't sure to love that much. She cleared her voice nervously. "What do you mean, Gracie?" Karen put her palms over the table. She was shaking.

"Well… You know. All that." Grace vaguely pointed at the room; at Danny and Mindy's happy faces. "This is Valentine's Day; the anniversary of your marriage. Your husband is in jail and you're assisting to someone else's wedding. That's crazy."

Karen's smile vanished as her face darkened, a firm line closing her lips. Jack looked at Will desperately before his friend took Karen's hand. "Don't pay attention to Grace, Karen. She's drunk." Karen turned her face and tried to smile at Will but the sound of her voice, almost inaudible, didn't match with the appearances she was carrying on. "I know, honey."

"Hey!" They all looked at Grace while she was gesticulating. "I'm not drunk!" She stood up and nodded vigorously. "I'm happy." Grace was slurring her words, holding tight the chair to prevent from losing definitely her balance. She looked at her friends then grabbed her glass and headed towards the ballroom. "Let's go to dance."

She waved at Danny as she passed next to him.

_The greenhouse._

She nodded and looked amused as Jack was going away all happy. Giving some flirt permission to her poodle was always a sweet moment she tended to never miss. Karen passed a hand through her hair and turned around, heading towards the French windows of the greenhouse, unaware of the couples standing there next to her, holding their glasses of Champagne while discussing over any interesting subject. She sat down on a deckchair and looked at the floor, lost in her thoughts. To be completely honest, she was glad to be there, with her friends. No mattered Grace was drunker than herself or Stanley was still in jail; at least she didn't feel too lonely even though ironically there was nobody with her at this exact moment. The night had fallen over Vermont and the snow was glimmering in the dark. A delicate smile passed trough Karen's face: the place reminded her of Canada and the few months she had spent there with her mother when she was a child. Some guy used to call her Snow-White out there and she loved that.

She sighed and stood up slowly as a headache was invading her brain slowly. She took the stairs, turned on her right and bumped into Will.

_The Ballroom._

"Jack…?" Jack froze when he heard a voice as scaring as Norman Bates' one. He slowly turned around and faced a livid Grace.

"Yes, G?"

"Where's Will? I guess I'm going to be sick."

Instinctively Jack made a step backwards before shaking his head. "I don't know. Though I know he has some aspirins in his bedroom." Grace nodded and headed to her friend's room.

_Room 25._

Will's bedroom was plunged in the dark as Grace came in but she didn't even bother to turn the lights on and went straight to the bathroom, finding the bottle of aspirin immediately. She took two pills and gulped them down.

_Hallway, in the meantime_.

Will jumped when Karen's body hit him accidentally. The millionaire frowned and smirked. "Come on Wilma, stop stalking me."

"And you stop bumping into me with this face. It's not Halloween."

"So why all these…" Karen suspended her sentence and laughed silently. She didn't feel like teasing him. She almost made a step backwards as Will took her hands and plunged his eyes in hers.

"Are you okay tonight?"

She loved their friendship. Will was the only one with whom she didn't need to pretend all the time. They could act like a couple of children and the second after come back to this seriousness that constituted the base of their strength. She gave him a sweet smile and nodded.

"Yes I am. Thank you, honey." She leaned over and kissed his lips shortly but stayed close to him; her face mere inches apart from his. They all had drunk too much that night, probably to forget their lives and that must be why Will leaned over and gave her back a quick peck; then another one. Both friends stared at each other for a couple of seconds and all of a sudden Karen's lips captured Will's one. She felt his hands on her waist and grabbed his nape as they deepened the kiss, desire taking possession of their bodies.

Eyes closed they headed towards Will's bedroom, the closest one, as the hunger of their minds was reaching a breathless and unexpected fantasy. Karen leaned over the door and opened it quietly.

_Room 25._

Some people were funny when they were drunk; others were awful and make you feel sick. Grace was in the second category and she hated it. She was looking at her reflection in the mirror of Will's bathroom when she heard stifled sounds behind her; a sort of loud breath, a moan. Confused she left the bathroom but froze when she saw Karen and Will kissing hungrily in the darkness of the room, moving fast until the bed; obviously excited.

That was the iciest shower that Grace could have expected and as ridiculous as it could be, the woman found herself unable to move, looking blankly at how her friends were now lying on the bed, guided by their instincts. What was happening?

She saw herself go towards the door, as if her mind had left her body and she was witnessing her own persona moving. Lord knows how she reached the hallway, closing the door silently. Still shocked and lost in her blank thoughts she went back downstairs as Jack arrived until her.

"Hey, where are Karen and Will?"

Grace opened her mouth to speak but the words didn't come out. Her lips were moving like a fish and after a whole minute of desperate effort in front of Jack's confusion she managed to mumble.

"They're…. Fucking."

Jack shook his head. The music was so loud and Grace's voice so low that he could barely hear his friend. "What?"

"Will and Karen are…" Grace shook her head and shouted out loud. "They're fucking… Fucking busy!"

She headed towards the ballroom and disappeared in the crowd as Jack came back to his flirting activities.


	6. Of memories and spilled out orange juice

The first time she had slept with someone, she had simply used her body to get rid of an exam at school. It had been cold and neutral; a sort of logic that would finally impose itself through the years unless the education she had got from her mother had already settled down her behaviour. The rest of her lovers, husbands and boy friends, had been treated the same way, with this singular distance she put over her heart in order to prevent from the disillusions of the morning after. And as she looked at Will that night, her legs still wrapped around his waist, Karen understood that for once, she just wanted to be with someone.

They rolled on a side and Will's fingertips began to caress Karen's arms sweetly. Nobody was speaking or moving; they were just observing each other quietly in the pale light of the Vermont night. Could they read on their faces that something had changed? They had crossed the limits and made a step forward into a complicated situation, a bit too blurry to be scanned right now.

This is the story of a gay guy who sleeps with a woman. They have known each other for years but something happened, one night; something they don't know how to deal with but the complicity of their gazes leads us to think they won't forget it.

Karen passed her hand on Will's nape and she kissed him deeply.

_The morning after, room 26._

She took a deep breath but the pain was so sharp that she stopped immediately. She rolled on her side and opened her eyes slowly; the sun was already shining high in the sky, the snow glimmering over the mountains and the trees. Grace frowned and put a hand on her forehead; this wasn't a hangover but the worst alcohol abuse she had ever lived. Somehow she managed to get up and drag herself until the bathroom. She needed a shower.

As she was tossing her clothes on the floor, her blood turned icy and she ran to her bed to check the eventual presence of some person still sleeping there but with a loudly sigh of relief, she realized that there was nobody. She mumbled some unintelligible words and came back to the bathroom, a vague feeling that something had happened though last night; she just couldn't remember what exactly.

_Room 24._

She closed her eyes and smiled when the water began to fall on her whole body. She felt fine, light. She had woken up with a big amount of energy boiling into her veins; he was still sleeping. She had left quietly his room to come back to hers and get ready for this Sunday morning; she could go for a walk and maybe even call Stanley, after all the poor was in jail and keeping in touch with the outside world was extremely complicated for him. She already could imagine their discussion.

"How about the ceremony, Karen? Did you enjoy the evening?"

"I did it on my way, honey… Twice."

Karen giggled under her mischievous fantasy. She had absolutely no remorse and wasn't in love with Will. It had been casual sex but with the sweetness of their friendship; it added something, some strength perhaps that had brushed away the mere doubt about both of them. They would probably never do it again but to be honest, she didn't really care. It had just been perfect. Karen sighed and whispered softly.

"Thank you, Will…"

"For what?"

She jumped and screamed, then poked her head out the shower. Jack was standing in her bathroom, applying a facial all over his face. He waved to her reflection in the mirror.

"Jeez, what are you doing here, Jackie?"

"I'm getting green… And divine." He gave her a gentle smile before adding. "So why do you want to thank Will?"

"Oh… Well… Hum… You know… Stanley and… The whole thing…" Karen disappeared into her shower, just to avoid Jack's eyes as she was obviously blushing.

_The lounge, breakfast_.

Like Karen who would probably drink more to drawn a hangover, Grace was gulping down French toasts while waiting for her friends to join her. Something was still bothering her, though, and her mind had shut down the access to any kind of new thoughts; she was trying to remember the past evening.

Karen arrived with Jack, sat down next to Grace and began to hum as she poured some tea in a mug. Her friend looked at her in disbelief; she hadn't added any inflammable liquid. As the gaze was weighing more and more on the millionaire, the dark-haired woman raised her eyebrows.

"What are you looking at, you red thing?"

Grace bit her lower lip and murmured carefully, as if she were afraid that the statement could cause an earthquake or something.

"You're drinking… Straight tea?"

Karen nodded. "Yes. Tea on the rocks… Oh, hello Wilma."

Will smiled and joined his friends at the table. As every single morning he opened The New York Times and started reading it. It was his own way to come back slowly to reality after a whole night lost in his dreams. As time was passing, he took more and more part in the discussions that the others were having to finally wake up completely and face the day that was coming. And if you asked him about it, he wouldn't say it was weird but… Personal.

As many other previous times, Jack made a long introduction of his new love and how things had finally turned around two in the morning. Some details could have been avoided but apparently it didn't change anything about Grace's appetite or Karen's humming. They were so used of those morning speeches that they barely paid attention to them anymore. It was… Just Jack.

After a dozen of croissants a slight headache diffused its pain through Grace's brain; the alcohol was still there in spite of all the food she had eaten to fight against it. She grabbed her glass of orange juice and was sipping it when she thought she should go to Will's room and take some aspirin. Then it happened all of a sudden. The light that hit her mind was so bright that she winced as she spilled out the juice over the table.

She looked down for a second as her friends had been surprised by the orange attack; the images were passing by her head like a speed movie. It was all so clear…She gasped then stared at Will and Karen who were obviously worried about her weird behaviour. She would have loved to throw a fit; to ask him how he could have rejected her but slept with Karen instead while he preferred men. MEN. What was he thinking about? And… Was that their first time? What about they actually had an affair and kept on pretending there was nothing? They were making fun of her… And Jack. And Stanley!

But her words stayed trapped somewhere in her boozy body and she only managed to whisper.

"Oh my god…"

Jack, Will and Karen were still looking at her, astonished.


	7. Something to worry about

She closed her eyes and plunged her head into the hot water, her hair dancing over her face. Her right knee came to rest on her left leg; she smiled. She was glad to be back to New York though she would never forget Vermont. Her friends had left her in The Upper East Side a few hours earlier, unaware of the fact they were facing a new Karen. Perhaps Will had a vague idea about her sudden change; at least the reasons were obvious for him but the weight of their secret belonged to the most important ones; these things we can't confess or talk about. She had never liked one-night stands and the anonymity of it but the difference with Will was that she perfectly knew him.

A stifled ring reached her ears, she emerged from the depths of her bath and picked up the phone without looking at the ID.

"Yes?"

"Hi."

She couldn't help but smile, surprised, when Will's voice appeared in the background.

"Hi honey. What's up?"

Will took a deep breath then cleared his voice nervously. "Something's missing here with me Karen."

"Oh…" Karen frowned, confused. "And what is it?"

"You."

Her whole body froze all of a sudden; from her fingers around the receiver to her heart that probably stopped for a few seconds. Her entire system had shut down under Will's confession. When everything connected up again, a wave of panic substituted to her previous feeling. She hadn't planned such a turn over because obviously, she was far from it.

"I'm kidding, Kare! Gosh, don't tell me it worked?" Will began to laugh on the other end of the line. The millionaire growled in annoyance and smirked.

"You just killed me, Wilma. I mean it. Oh my… Don't do that again. Please."

Seeing that her friend was still laughing, Karen cut it off quickly. "So why are you calling? Is everything alright?"

"I just called… Are you okay, Karen?"

The seriousness of Will's tone caught her up by surprise but her friend's care for her warmed her up right away and she tenderly smiled. That was the thing about Will; he always knew and sensed everything.

"Yes I am."

A couple of minutes later Karen went out her bathroom and headed to the kitchen for dinner. She had never felt so fine.

_The exact morning, room 26._

She had preferred to leave the lounge and the heavy atmosphere of her face-to-face with Will and Karen, not sure of how she had to deal with it. She was now pacing her room furiously, all her thoughts getting mixed in her head. Her mind was scanning the whole situation, looking for some clues that it may have been on for a while, anything. But she couldn't come to any conclusion, she was just overreacting. She stopped all of a sudden when someone knocked on the door.

"It's open." She raised her eyebrows and smiled mischievously as Karen appeared.

"Hi Gracie… How are you? I was wondering if… If you'd like to go for a walk with me?" Karen pointed at the mountains and the trees through the window. "It's sunny today so I thought you might like it…"

Grace opened her eyes widely. "You want to walk? You?" She was looking at Karen incredulously. "Besides… Aren't you tired? I even wonder how you can walk right now."

For a very brief moment Grace saw what could have passed for fear in Karen's eyes but like any sign of weakness it didn't last long enough in her friend's attitude to be assimilated as it.

"What?" The dark-haired woman stared in disbelief at her friend, vaguely laughing at the non-sense of the last statement.

Grace opened her mouth to reply but something hit her mind half-way. For once she took her time and observed her friend with attention. Karen seemed to be different suddenly; her features had softened and her eyes were glimmering. Grace hadn't seen her friend like that for a very long while, Karen looked relieved, as if she wasn't carrying on the weight of Stanley's case anymore. It would have gone away as by magic and her life had taken a new beginning.

Grace bit her lower lip as she realized that she hadn't been very supportive towards Karen while the millionaire had had to go through bad patches. She had been way too concentrated on the bitterness she could get from this wedding, her own little person. The rest hadn't mattered at all and now Karen was there, looking happy. Will had spent a lot of time with her lately and even though they may have come closer to what everybody was expecting, at least he had managed to give her back something: the flame of her life and the joy of it. Grace looked down, ashamed. She had just missed it.

"Grace? Are you okay? You're scaring me…"

The red-haired woman looked up and plunged her eyes into her friend's ones.

"If you wanted that something changed between the four of us or was already changing, evolving, would you tell it to me, Karen? Or would you keep it for yourself?"

Karen never hesitated and answered right away. "I would tell it Grace because it would be something that could only brighten our days. I care way too much about what you're bringing to me."

_The exact afternoon, in the car._

Grace looked through the window how the landscape of Vermont was speeding past next to her. The white layer of snow seemed to go fading away while they were approaching New York. She glanced furtively at Will who was driving; he looked fine and certainly not guilty or ashamed. She turned her head, Karen and Jack had fallen asleep. There was a pleasant silence reigning over them like these ends of weekends when we come back to the routine of our lives, putting aside all the things we have done during the previous forty-eight hours. It was just a parenthesis, a sweet suspension in the craziness of our lives and everything remains the same because the bases are too strong to be damaged by a simple detail as tiny as a night that Will may have shared with Karen. Both of them didn't seem to be bothered by the way the events had turned out and perhaps she was wrong and some day they would both come to her, hand in hand, and say out loud they were a couple but still...

The car crossed the Brooklyn Bridge and Grace saw the lights of Manhattan.

Something kept on telling her that she didn't have to worry about that.


End file.
